SISTER OF THE HOLY ANGELS

Sister of the Holy Angels –   Sister Ruhi Thérèse Kimaya, H.A.                                                                        † The first and longest standing religious Congregation for Sri Lankan women †                                           “Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam”  –  “All for the  Greater Glory of God”                                                                          “Out of hopelessness blooms a flower”

Founder:  Jesuit Bishop Rt. Reverend Dr. Joseph Van Reeth, S.J.  ( the first Bishop of Galle )                          *Mother Gertrude – the first Superior who caught the spirit of the founder*

Place:  Diocese of Galle, Sri Lanka  ( Ceylon )

Year:  1903 A.D.

Her Charism:  Dedicated to her patron, St. Michael the Archangel, this Sister is a contemplative prophetic missionary who spreads the love of the Gospel through education and works to lift families out of generational poverty.  She is called to alleviate suffering, illuminate the mind, and ignite the spirit, opting always to be with the poorest of the poor in society.  Knowing what indigenous people can do to take God’s message to the people of the soil in rural areas, like St. Thérèse, the “Little Flower” (“Kuda Kasum”) this Sister performs her activities silently and selflessly for the Kingdom of God.  Her mission location in Sri Lanka,  (“the Pearl of the Indian Ocean”), is primarily Buddhist.  But its population lives in disarray after years of civil war and ethnic tensions.  It is fertile ground to educate, mentor, and spread the love of the Heart of Jesus on the Cross in this war-torn country where poverty is so extreme.  This Sister understands that when children are uneducated, the cycle of poverty continues.  Here the Holy Spirit has a starring role to help attack poverty at its roots.  He calls her to be “the message” and “the messenger” of Peace, Love, and Joy to those with an array of health problems, feelings of abandonment, no access to clean water, nor to an education to better their standard of living.  Her compassion and intrepid nature are unmatched as she is often found floating on a small raft through snake and crocodile-infested waters to bring food and clothes to her beloved poor in orphanages and to visit the elderly sick.  As the needs of the people have grown, her apostolates have become more diversified.  However, education is always paramount and at the crux of all she does.